Conveyor systems, such as cable conveyor systems, are commonly used to move materials, such as articles in automated manufacturing facilities to desired locations, which articles being manipulated by dedicated machinery onto pallets. Cable conveyor systems often utilize endless belts or interconnected belt members that are drivingly moved and supported, such as by rollers or a track along a path. A drive unit, such as a motor rotatably drives a drive pulley that drivingly carries a cable positioned beneath the product being conveyed. An idler or idler pulley, sometimes referred to as a take-up idler, maintains the cable in tension for proper operation of the conveyor system. In some cases there is a drive unit with take-up included for longer cable runs (e.g., 1,000 ft) used along with a take-up idler, both work together to maintain the proper tension in the cable run.
As a result of wear or cable elongation or other reasons, cable tension can be adversely affected. If proper tension is not maintained, slippage between the cable, drive pulley and/or belt may occur, potentially resulting in surging, jamming, and extreme wear on the cable, belt and/or track, or the cable may twist into the drive unit and cause damage, or at the least a noticeable decrease or complete loss of performance may occur. In the case of cable conveyors, poor take-up may cause drive unit damage or may permit the cable to slip off or otherwise become disengaged from the cable conveyor system.
Unfortunately, it is generally not possible to easily determine whether the cable tension is proper, especially when the cable conveyor system is operating.
There is a need in the art for a tensioner and method for maintaining a cable conveyor system.